At the heart of developer HAL Laboratory’s latest installment featuring the veteran hero is a game that takes some bold steps to switch up gameplay and provide fans with a fresh way to experience Kirby. Sadly, the notable strides the game makes aren’t nearly enough.

Kirby’s latest adventure introduces an evil villain known as Claycia. Just as Kirby is about to get his grub on, Claycia sucks all the color out of Kirby’s Dream World, leaving it a monotonous gray throughout. Luckily for Kirby, a magical paintbrush named Elline saves the day by allowing Kirby and his pal Waddle Dee to travel on rainbow-colored ropes to get through the various levels.

Mario and his friends may be going mobile as the struggling Nintendo announced the company is developing content for smartphones.

Struggling gaming giant Nintendo announced today the company is currently developing content for smart phones, as noted in this translation of a third quarter fiscal presentation from company president Satoru Iwata.

The move into mobile devices will not come as a surprise to those familiar with the company’s woes, namely its 30 percent drop in profit, a disaster precipitated by weak sales of the Wii U console. Several top executives accepted pay cuts, including Satoru.

“I have often heard the opinion from many that Nintendo should release its first-party content on smart devices,” Satoru said. “The rationale behind such a suggestion, in my view, is that it would be illogical not to expand our business on smart devices given that they have outsold dedicated video game systems by a large margin.”

A major system update for Nintendo’s Wii U is now available for download.

The update delivers a host of new services and enhanced features, such as improved stability and performance, as well as faster load times when switching between applications.

The update also lays the groundwork for the imminent launch of the Wii U Virtual console service.

Wii U owners also will soon see the launch of Wii U panorama view.

The updates include:

The time required to start the Wii U console, launch built-in applications, exit software and return to the main menu, jump between applications, and jump between software and Miiverse has been reduced.

While the Wii U logo is being displayed during the system startup, users can directly transition to the Wii Menu by holding down the B Button on the Wii U GamePad.

Users can install games and applications from the Nintendo eShop in the background while other software is being used.

Ubisoft has announced release dates for some of its major titles for the holiday season.

Just Dance 4 will be released October 9.

Just Dance 4 will be released on the Wii™ system from Nintendo, Microsoft Kinect™ for Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. The game also will be released on the Wii UTM system from Nintendo during its launch window.

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Far Cry 3 will be released December 4.

Far Cry 3 will be available for the Xbox 360, the Sony PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. In Far Cry 3, players step into the shoes of Jason Brody, a man alone at the edge of the world, stranded on a mysterious tropical island. In this savage paradise where lawlessness and violence are the only sure thing, players dictate how the story unfolds, from the battles they choose to fight to the allies or enemies they make along the way.

Rocksmith will be released October 16.

Now with new content that allows players to plug in and play with a bass guitar, Rocksmith will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC (The bass will be available for existing American Rocksmith owners to purchase as downloadable content on September 4.).

A&E reporter John Wenzel has covered a variety of topics for The Denver Post over the years, including video games, comedy, music and the fine arts. He's been playing and loving video games since his dad brought home a sweet ColecoVision in 1983. Catch him on PSN as beardsandgum.

Hugh got his start writing for the Cheyenne and Woodmen Edition newspapers in Colorado Springs. In 2011 he moved to Denver where he has written for Denver Urban Spectrum and Colorado Community Media’s Wheat Ridge Transcript. Hugh joined The Denver Post in 2014 as an editorial assistant.

Bryan Moore joined The Denver Post sports department in 1997 and has worked in many phases of producing the daily sports section ever since, specifically focusing on coverage of the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and college football and basketball.